One that didnt get away
Half an hour of daylight left, the sound of church bells tolling from across the fields as a gentle mist starts to form & as you can see dear readers, little Mister up to no good was up to no good … again! A 4x4, lamps, a boot full of weapons, & me, with my reputation?
In fact, it was only as a result of a flurry of phone calls while driving home that we were to find ourselves properly tooled up & sitting silently in a field, waiting for foxy loxy to stick its little nose out. This is how dear readers that you were saved from your humble correspondent having the time to write at length & with customary bile, about those nangers in government that yesterday wrote off £300m of taxpayers money which had been loaned to Zambia. So while our political masters were being rather too overly generous with taxpayers money, you can rest assured that no such feelings of magnanimity were being manifest in a corner of a now darkened field.
We knew roughly, where we wanted to site ourselves, having shot one fox on the other side of the field two weeks ago. So, while I set, checking safety arcs & backdrops while we still had some daylight, my companion went off & shot a rabbit with which to bait the ambush – the plan being to attract our quarry to fresh kill that had been staked out 100 yards away, hit the lamps & brass up old red.
So we sat there for an hour watching bats & Barn owls, not moving, listening for the sound of Reynard tucking into our cottontail when the first rustle came from out of the oil seed rape in the field opposite. Five minutes latter, the rustling had crossed the ditch & no more than ten yards in front of us, walked straight out in front of Disco Dave & onto the maize drilling. Hitting the lights we were greeted by the sight of one extremely surprised looking young fox.
Now many of you, I know, are of a mild & gentle disposition. Others of you I also know have little or no interest in the terminal effect of 150 grains of soft nosed good news, travelling at in excess of 2,800 fps (which is 2,650 ft lbs of energy in layman’s-speak), which is why the photo of the result is a pop-up & not embedded into this post.
Scratch one fox … well it is not as if the Tedworth or Avon Hunts are allowed to keep the numbers down any more. See, I told you things like this would happen! As for regrets, I have but one: that we cant employ the same techniques on bl**dy politicians that yesterday, gave away the thick end of half a billon dollars our of money, to no good end.
Comments
It is always quite nice when the projectile does the gutting for you! Nice work!
Posted by: Robert Douglas | May 26, 2005 3:53 PM
Nice shootin'!
Posted by: -keith in mtn. view | May 27, 2005 4:38 PM
Bloody well done!
Posted by: Kevin Baker | May 27, 2005 11:25 PM
10 yards and a gut shot? Or centre of seen mass? Either way, that is one less moxie. Nice bit of kit btw, Remington or Ruger?
Posted by: CB | May 28, 2005 11:29 AM
Overkill, anyone?
I TOLD you to get the .223 Rem rifle, but noooo...
Posted by: Kim du Toit | May 30, 2005 11:35 PM
Gotta agree with Kim.....Ruger M77 in .223 does the job on my place. we're lambing at present, and the barrel is hot every night.
11B
Posted by: 11bravo | June 2, 2005 2:09 AM
Let me get this straight, your proud of yourself for killing this defenceless animal, after saying it was young and helpless in the lamplight and yet you have no mercy, you go ahead and pull the trigger of some probably korean made implement to end the life of a young animal trying to feed itself on a cold night. You think your a man, I tell you, your nothing short of a coward, and the worst kind at that; one who thinks of himself as a tough guy as a real hero.
So you killed a rabbit to use as bait. What do you wnat us to think "ooh, ruthless, nothing will stop this amazing man, he is a killing machine", maybe "thats genius, bait, using his big gun again, what a revolutionary thinker, he must be so intelligent".
Well I've got news for you, 99% of the public see you morons prancing around fields out of your heated land rovers with all mod cons, carrying some high powered modern gun that any idiot could kill something with, pretending to be masculine or hunters or something. Everyone else sees you as frankly ridiculous.
Any why, is it pest control as you claim, well NO, no one ever boasts about killing cockroaches or ants, even rats or mice. Is it sport, no, not really, where is the skill, what is the need for live targets? They are unpredictable, harder to measure each others performance against. If its not a sport, a skill, a means of pest control, then its just a bunch of big boys who get a good feeling from having power of the life of other animals, because in real life usually no one likes them or listens to them.
Well your not heroic, your not skillful, your not proving anything to anyone apart from how sad you are that a highlight of your life is ending the lives of other poor defenceless animals on this earth.
Cowardly actions, If I were you I dont know how I would ever live with myself on this world, having taken life away from so many poor animals just trying to provide for themselves and their family.
Posted by: Graham Lancaster | June 4, 2005 3:17 AM
Graham lancaster... go out, buy a rifle and shoot something. your attitude will soon change.
and before you call me a moron with a high powered modern gun... be aware I carry a .303 made in 1940 that has seen use against the nips. with this and a 4x scope I can drop a beer can at 200 Meters 3 times out of 5 using milsurp ammo.
cmon... have a go.
Posted by: rhys | June 5, 2005 1:30 AM
Now look here, I have read a lot of you site and must say I agree with almost every opinion on it. Indeed, I thought to myself, its refreshing to find someone speak the truth without being politically correct.
I suppose I was just shocked to hear of your pride at killing something, I think a "non-gunny" you refer to my type as.
I realise I may have been a bit harsh, and I tell you, Im surprised at the timidity of your reply, I was half expecting you to say you'd blow my brains out or something, and start boastin in some bullish way about how youd eat scatter the entrails, or the like, but no, you've not done yourself such a mis-service by being ignorant and violently minded, and that is to your credit.
I am afraid however, I will not be taking you up on your offer of getting a gun. Anyroads, what do you mean by this business "go out, buy a rifle"? I thought it was illegal in this country unless you had a license, and then only certain weapons were allowed, and for specific purposes. Maybe a clarification on gun law would be helpful, for instance, if you did not have the consent of the landowner whos field you shot the fox in would that act have been a crime?
Graham
Posted by: Graham Lancaster | June 7, 2005 1:42 AM